Your San Antonio Tile Cleaning Expert: December 2014

Friday, December 26, 2014

Finding the Best Marble Care

Marble care is all about knowing what to do with this remarkable stone.

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Why Get Professional Marble Care?

Why get professional marble care? Well, marble, like travertine, can be damaged if you don't know what you're doing.

Marble is a favorite stone for construction and decoration. It is a noble material that gives a distinguished touch to your environments and lasts for several generations. But for that, you must keep it clean with techniques to keep for years. As a porous material, marble easily absorbs stains. The good news is that these stains can be removed successfully if you act fast. The longer, more liquid is absorbed and the harder it is to remove from the stone.

How to clean marble is very simple; simply pass a sponge or cloth soaked in a mixture of soap and water. Of course, if the spots are deeper, you will have to apply other techniques. If there is a mark of rust or rust on the floor from the action of some furniture, we recommend using water and lemon (juice). You can also add a little salt. When vinegar or lemon is used to remove a stain, keep in mind that are corrosive to the stone, so it should be used with care. Otherwise, you can ruin the marble permanently. To prevent this from happening, apply the mixture to the stain, rub gently for a few minutes and immediately it with water and soap. If the stain persists, clean it again, taking care not to let it set more than a few minutes on the stone. It's a good idea to clean your marble in sections, so that only a small portion of floor is vulnerable at a time.

Marble Cleaning and Sealing

One thing that a lot of people do wrong with marble cleaning is to apply wax to it to make it shine. While wax can give your floor a temporary shine, wax has a tendency to build up to the point that it can attract dirt and make your floor look dingy and worn out. What's surprising about marble is that you can actually hone it with the right sort of abrasive pads and powder to get that shine. The shine level of your marble depends on the finish you're looking for. Full gloss, for example, is where marble literally looks like a mirror, and you can even see your face in the floor.

Ultimately, regardless of how you do it, you want to take care of your marble. One of the best ways is to call a marble cleaning service.

Read more about marble care...

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Friday, December 19, 2014

Professional Travertine Cleaning in San Antonio, TX: What You Should Know (Contd.)

Travertine cleaning is more than just the tile, it's the grout that lies between them and under them.

: Get Professional Travertine Cleaning in Cibolo TX | Call Us Today (210) 637-5050

Travertine Care and Your Grout

Travertine is a stone that is in the calcium carbonate family of stones that include travertine, marble, and limestone. Each of these stones despite looking very different than each other require remarkably similar care. For example, part of a proper travertine care regimen includes avoiding exposure to anything acidic or any harsh chemicals. Another thing that you have to be aware of, is you want to make sure that the grout that is between your tiles is in good condition as well as the grout that is underneath the tiles as well.

We know what you're thinking. Without a high powered ultrasound machine or X Ray device, how can you know if the grout that is underneath your tile is good? Well, the grout that is between the tiles is a key indicator. If it is good, it's likely that the grout under the tiles is good too. And you want to make sure that when you're thinking of travertine care that your grout is good too because grout helps to strengthen as well as protect the stone. Each and every day, you have the weight of an adult or two, plus maybe some kids as well. If there is sufficient grout under the tile this isn't a problem. However, if the grout's damaged, then sooner or later you're going to hear a sound that you don't want to hear, namely, the sound of a travertine tile cracking. A cracked tile can sometimes be repaired, but most of the time, you end up having to replace it. That's why you want grout cleaning and care done on your travertine. A service that does both stone and grout is the best one to pick as that way everything is done all in one visit.

Travertine Cleaning: Call a Pro

A travertine cleaning professional knows the difference between slate, marble, travertine, limestone, granite, or whatever other type of stone you have in your home and/or office, and more importantly knows what can and can't be done to each of the stones in question. Travertine is a fairly hard stone, but it is surprisingly vulnerable to anything acidic.

So remember, it is easier to clean something than replace it. With that in mind, make sure you get a stone cleaning service in to clean and protect your travertine.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Professional Travertine Cleaning in San Antonio, TX: What You Should Know

How easy is it to clean travertine? Is there anything I should be careful of doing with my travertine floor?

Call in a professional for travertine cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

Travertine Cleaning San Antonio: Watch Out

How easy is it to clean travertine? That depends on what you consider easy. Travertine is a natural stone that has been used as a building material for centuries. Travertine adds beauty to your home. One thing that you must be careful of however, is how to clean your travertine.

Is there anything I should be careful of doing with my travertine floor? First off, you never want to wet mop travertine. While water itself is harmless, what may be in your water is not, particularly any chlorine. Anything acidic put on travertine can eat away at the stone. And you'd be surprised at what can cause damage to travertine. Bleach, of course, is a given, but did you know that something as simple as spilling a cup of coffee or a glass or wine or orange juice on your travertine floor can damage it too. In addition, certain species of bacteria can also eat away at the stone and these bacteria are often found in municipal water sources. Another problem with using anything acidic is that travertine is usually not one piece, it has gaps and voids that form in it naturally and these are usually filled with resin or other filling material that is as vulnerable, if not more than the stone itself.

Call a Stone Cleaning Service

Although travertine is extremely durable, it can lose its glossy appearance with wear and tear. That's why its important for you to contact a professional who can restore its original appearance, preferably one who specializes in stone cleaning. They know what can be used on your stone as well as how to bring back it's lovely luster and shine. One thing that a professional stone care service will likely recommend is to seal your stone. This is a good idea from so many angles. Stone is naturally porous, and a stone sealer sinks into the pores and makes it more resistant to stains as well as damage.

Ultimately, you want to make sure that one of two things occurs where your travertine floor is concerned. Either you know exactly what to do at all times in regards to cleaning it and taking care of it, or you get on the phone and call a stone cleaning service in San Antonio, Texas.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Natural Stone Care: Tips, Tricks, and What to Avoid (Contd.)

Natural stone care is all about knowledge as we covered previously...

: Get stone sealing in San Antonio, TX | (210) 637-5050

Natural Stone Cleaning

Stone care includes things like stone cleaning. But how do you safely clean natural stone? One major step to take in ensuring that your stone surface is in a perfect condition is by using warm water and a neutral cleaner while always ensuring that you use a clean rag mop on your floor and soft clothes for cleaning the other surfaces.

Excessive use of the cleaner may leave a film on your stone surface thereby needing one to be very keen with the manufacturer recommendations while others opt for an easy way out by hiring a tile cleaning service. Thorough rinsing of the floor after using soap during cleaning is also vital with one required to make sure that he or she dries up the floor thereafter. Mild bleach is always the best way to go when dealing with wet surfaces as it is very good in removing algae and moss. When cleaning you are not allowed to mix ammonia and bleach because the combination causes a lethal gas and for this you are highly encouraged to get a professional help to do the cleaning whenever there is chemicals involved. You also want to protect your stone after you have cleaned it, and one of the best ways to do it is to seal your stone.

Stone Sealing

This is a common form of precaution used against staining of the stones. Although most of the stones do not required sealing, people still use the sealing products to make their stones resistant to stains.

The first procedure in removing a stain from a stone surface is being able to tell the type of stain which later determines how you are going to get rid of the stain. An oil-based stain for example must be chemically dissolved before using mineral spirits to completely get rid of the stain. Organic stains on a stone surface on the other hand are removed by use of hydrogen peroxide and a few drops of ammonia while metal stains can only be removed with a poultice. Ammonia, hydrogen peroxide or bleach is used to get rid of a biological stain with other stains such as the ink stain also being removed by the same procedure. Call a tile cleaning service if you have any questions